THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: President Pratibha Patil on Friday performed the dedication of a lotus-shaped parnasala at the Santhigiri Ashram, Potencode in the outskirts of the state capital.

The 91-ft high monument shaped like a lotus in full bloom and constructed in white marble has been realized at the final resting place of the ashram's founder Navajyothisree Karunakara Guru.

Ms Patil, who described the guru as a "visionary who believed in a casteless society based on strong family values", said the parnasala ( meditation centre) symbolized his message of universal peace and fraternity.

She said Karunakara Guru believed that among human beings there can be no discrimination based on caste, religion or class, and taught his followers the importance of working together for peace, family welfare and spiritual growth.

Earlier, the president prayed at the prayer hall in the ashram premises and offered floral tributes at the parnasala. She also visited the lotus bud-shaped Sahakarana Mandiram (shrine of togetherness) and had a meeting with the ashram head, HH Sishyapoojitha Amritha Jnana Tapaswini.

HH Sishayapoojitha said a positive change had to emerge at the level of households through virtuous living in order for goodness to come into the world.

The Santhigiri Ashram is also involved in preserving and rejuvenating traditional Indian systems of medicine including Ayurveda and Siddha. The ashram and the Santhigiri Research Foundation have taken up eco-friendly technologies, methods and systems to promote organic farming, rainwater harvesting and conservation of groundwater.

The parnasala was a humble hermit's hut when Karunakara Guru established the ashram in 1968 at Pothencode, 21 kms outside Thiruvananthapuram. The month-long celebrations inaugurated by the president will include cultural programmes, an international conference on global warming, climate change, sustainable development, secular spiritualism and a spiritual congress.